Couple's Moon
by Zero Abstract
Summary: "Y-You think I'm pretty?" she asked casually, looking back up to him. "W-Well n-not really pretty… I mean… ugh… b-beautiful… uhm... is that the word…? Girls are weird…" NaLu Oneshot.


**Couple's Moon**

Got the Idea: Aug. 2, 2013

Started writing: Aug. 10, 2013

Finished writing: Aug. 25, 2013

Started typing: Aug. 10, 2013

Finished Typing: Sept. 23, 2013

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**This is a fanfic for one of my favorite Fairy Tail pairings, NaLu. This was supposed to be posted ages ago. However, I got myself into an annoyingly hectic schedule and I haven't got much free time to type this. I apologize in advance for any grammatical/structural and/or spelling errors.**

**This is a oneshot but it's actually pretty lengthy (considering the length of all the one-shots I've already read). And I wouldn't blame you if you got bored to sleep while reading this, though I trust that readers here have finished insanely long stories.**

**Constructive criticism is generally accepted (even prejudiced, biased, predisposed, irrational and senseless flames).**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL.**

* * *

"_Couple's Moon – A magical occasion that happens once every decade in Fiore. It is believed that the surface of the moon is made of ardor lacrima crystals which turn pink when it gathers enough light. Each decade in the first day of the fourth week of the third month, the lacrima concentrates enough magical power to break through the densest barriers guarding an individual's sentiment, causing anyone hit by its light to realize their true emotions for their desired mate."_

It was a sunny afternoon. The clear orange sky stretched to the horizons of the city of Magnolia as smooth, gentle breezes of warm wind swooped down and licked the landscape.

Most of the stores were closed, the streets were deserted and the only thing that echoed through the afternoon was the sound of heavy footsteps. Most of the town's folk were gathered in the town square, preparing for the evening's _Couple's Moon Ball_ – a festival dedicated for old and young sweethearts alike.

Two young men walked on the cemented sidewalk and although both were annoyed by each other's presence, they didn't bid their time to spark one of their infamous brawls.

"Weirdo…" Natsu mumbled, kicking a stone aside as he strolled in the deserted streets. He was walking home; he decided not to take part in the ball after a scene that had unfolded earlier while his companion, Gray, was coming over to tend a sick Juvia. His blue Exceed was nowhere to be found. Apparently, Happy went to Wendy's place to ask Carla to the ball, leaving the dragon slayer alone with none other than his all time rival.

Gray stared at Natsu who was massaging his red, throbbing cheek with an annoyed face painted in his picture. The ice mage was troubled by something. Something that involved the fire breathing idiot beside him and a stellar spirit wizard he knew. He had been thinking about it for the whole day and it pained him to know that the moronic pyromaniac was the root of all of this.

"What?!" the pyro asked his comrade impatiently, noticing the pair of piercing eyes that had been observing on him for quite some time. "I know I made her cry, you don't need to remind me!" He turned away.

Knitting his eyebrows, Gray managed a slow, stifle sigh while closing his eyes and hanging his head, as his mind recalled what happened previously.

* * *

Gray sat on his favorite place at the darkest corner of the guild mess hall. Most of his _nakama_ were preparing for the upcoming ball so he decided to settle himself away from the crowds to avoid scaring women with his unconscious stripping habit. Supposedly, Gray was to dance with Juvia but unfortunately, the water mage got sick after they returned from a job request situated in his hometown two days ago.

Nearly everyone in the guild already had dates except for Natsu, Lucy and Lisanna. The ice mage didn't want to dance with either of the two girls so he decided not to attend the ball and visit his admirer instead.

He sat there and eyed the whole guild, being almost indifferent to everything happening around him. He took a glance to his left and saw a distraught Lucy from afar, along with Mirajane, who was, by the way, desperately trying to help Elfman fit into his clothes.

"Natsu-san… When are you gonna marry me?!" The sudden statement prompted him to break his gaze and turn to the table on his right. Gray cocked an eyebrow as he saw the occupants of the seat.

Natsu sat there, his chin resting on his right hand, completely oblivious to the drunk, white-haired mage beside him. The girl rested her head on his left shoulder, lacing her arms around Natsu's biceps as she tried to snuggle closer. The dragon slayer flinched for a moment, startled by action, before unwinding the girl's arms.

"Lisanna, what're you talking about? You're drunk."

Lisanna Strauss – the sweet, innocent girl who always finds a way or two to flirt with his idiotic rival. The very thought of her name sent chills down Gray's spine. And he had never had chills since he trained with Ur.

Gray had always wondered what made a girl that most of the men in Fairy Tail root for, like Natsu Dragneel – the faithful–only-to-Mavis idiot who was denser than a freaking hole in space.

Honestly, he had never thought that someone can possibly fall head over heels for the moronic, bastard. Despite this, Gray felt a lump of jealousy in his system as a heavy sigh made its way out of the wizard's throat.

"Match made in hell…" he said as he chewed on a piece of steak that appeared out of nowhere. Frankly, Gray didn't give a damn to Natsu or to Lisanna or to any piece of crap between the two of them. He had no problems with that whatsoever. However, there was **ONE** thing that Gray was worried about. He had this strong feeling that a certain celestial mage was also falling for the dense moron.

Gray had thought about this since the Phantom Lord dispute. Ever since the aforementioned incident, Lucy Heartfilia has been hinting some passionate feelings for the fire mage – not rejecting his presence whenever he breaks into her house, being angry at him when he gets himself in a fatal situation and blushing madly every time he gives her his signature smile is to name a few.

To be honest, the ice-make mage already anticipated this kind of thing happening. Natsu was, after all, the knight-in-shining-armor-who-always-pops-out-whenev er-his-damsel's-in-distress type of guy while Lucy was the blonde, dropdown gorgeous mage whose sizeable breasts almost literally scream: ""Come and molest me dickheads!"

Gray couldn't blame Lucy for falling for the idiot. For Pete's sake, the man saved her countless of times! This kind of thing was bound to happen sooner or later. There was one, just **ONE,** problem though. Natsu Dragneel was most likely the densest person he had ever met in his entire life. The idiot probably wouldn't know love even if it barged into his house.

**THAT **was the problem.

Gray had met an awful lot of people, but flame-brain was perhaps the worst ever when it came to romance. In the entire history of Earthland. He grimaced at the thought that his friend was falling for the freaking dragon. How unfortunate of her. Unfortunate, unfortunate, unfortunate.

"L-Lisanna?!"

The sudden exclamation broke Gray's trail of thoughts. He looked to his right and saw Lisanna on top of Natsu, who was, by the way, struggling to keep the girl from kissing him. The two wizards squirmed uncomfortably like earthworms doused with salt causing Gray break down to a laugh as the white-haired, take over mage pinned the pyro to the floor. It was a hilarious sight, the great salamander defeated by a petite drunk lass. Mind him; the girl was a lot stronger than she looked.

By the time Gray managed to regain his composure, Lisanna was leaning down the distraught wizard under her. She was getting closer, and closer, and closer when,

"N-Natsu?!"

The three teens jumped at the sudden voice and turned their head to the source of the voice. Lucy was holding a tray of food (so that's where he got the steak) with Mirajane, both wide-eyed, and not to mention tomato-red, at the astonishing sight.

There was a long pause as silence began to surround them. Lucy turned her back against the duo but her trembling hands made it clear to everyone just how she felt.

"L-Luce, wait! Y-You don't understand!" The dragon slayer uttered, removing Lisanna from him. She almost broke into a run if Natsu hadn't grasped her wrist just in time.

"Lu-" He cut himself when he saw the expression on her face – a flushed face with tears continuously rushing down her cheeks. Without any warning, the said mage swiftly slapped him across the face and then ran off.

Her hand had left a dark, red mark. After being frozen in his place for a couple of minutes, he lifted a hand to touch his cheek, furrowing his brows. He blinked as he began to rub his aching cheek.

"Why did she slap me?!" Natsu asked, still dumbfounded as he radiated heat from his body in annoyance.

Knitting his brows, Gray gave a sigh in disbelief as he grabbed the dragon slayer by his scarf and led him outside the guild.

"Let's go home before you burn the whole guild!"

* * *

The two teens walked in silence as the moonlight shone on them, with Natsu grunting all the way.

"Will you stop that?!" Gray snapped, halting on his tracks and breaking the awkward silence. "If I hear another one of your bickering nonsense I swear I'll turn you into a popsicle!" Natsu snorted and turned away in retaliation, completely unimpressed by his comrade's threat.

"Whatever… Stripper…"

That was the last call. Grabbing the pyro by the collar, Gray slammed him hard on a nearby wall, pulling him up so he was elevated a few inches from the cold ground. "If you're SO upset because Lucy slapped you, then go and talk to her ash-for-brains!"

There was a long pause as silence began to take over yet again. Something was amiss with his friend's behavior. Gray expected him to fight back, set him aflame or slam him to the ground but instead Natsu uncharacteristically looked away, in a bashful manner.

Natsu, bashful? Now that was a first.

Gray sighed in disbelief and loosened his grip, gently setting his rival down and taking a few steps back. "Go and apologize to her…"

Natsu's eyes widened a bit at the statement. Apologize? Was he kidding? He didn't do anything wrong, as far as he knows. In fact, he even tried to clear the situation, avoid a misunderstanding, assist Lisanna home and maybe even ask Lucy to the ball. But NOOOO… She just had to go overboard. Cry. Slap him hard and leave his face swollen for the whole afternoon. And run away.

He had no reason to be guilty, or better yet, apologize. The dragon slayer was like an innocent man framed for murder but then again, he couldn't help but feel responsible for the situation.

Apologize because he felt guilty for something that he didn't really do? That didn't make sense.

What the hell?

Natsu looked at his companion but quickly turned away and crossed his arms. "Why me?" he asked, looking at Gray in the corner of his eyes. "She's the one who started it…"

Gray's face twitched at the statement. Was he serious? He looked sorry for a moment and now he's insisting it wasn't his fault, which was technically true but also technically wrong; Heck, this conversation was driving the both of them nuts.

Natsu gave the ice mage an inquisitive look.

"Look you freaking moron," he started, putting his right arm over his comrade's shoulder. He paused for a moment before giving a stifle sigh. "Lucy… well she slapped you because she saw you with… another girl."

Well that certainly didn't help at all. If Natsu's confusion can get any worse, it just did. He cocked an eyebrow to signal that he didn't understand.

How was he supposed to understand anyway?

Lucy never had problems whenever she talks to Erza or Mirajane or Wendy. How come she always gets angry whenever he's with Lisanna?

"So?" he asked casually.

Crap.

Gray dragged a hand over his face. God, how he wanted to strangle the idiot in front of him so badly.

"She got jealous you genius!"

Natsu gave him a blank expression. He blinked once as he furrowed his brows. She was… jealous?

"Why would she get… jealous?"

Heck, he's more of an idiot than I thought!

He gritted his teeth. Take it easy, if you kill him now that would be a huge problem… he reminded himself, desperately trying to restrain his bloodthirsty hands. Seriously, anyone with a brain would know why a girl gets jealous, right? Unfortunately, the idiot in front of him doesn't seem to have one.

He gave another sigh. Does he really need to explain it to him word by word?!

"Listen you idiot…" Natsu turned and raised a brow. "A girl gets jealous when the boy she likes…" he paused for a moment, forging the simplest sentence he can in his mind. "Not just like, but LIKE-LIKE… you understand what I mean?" The pyro nodded. "Okay… When the boy she likes is with ANOTHER girl… Got that?"

That felt like a trip to hell…

Cupping his chin, Natsu took a moment to digest what he just heard. It was strange, his idiotic friend looked thoughtful for a moment or so…

Natsu? Thoughtful? That was a scary thought

"So… Lucy doesn't like to see me with Lisanna?" Gray couldn't help but smile as he nodded his head in approval with the feeble guess.

Finally some sense got knocked into him.

"That's because Lucy…" there was a pause and Gray caught him swallowing nervously. "L-Likes…"

'Keep going' Gray mentally commanded him.

"B-Because Lucy l-likes m-me?"

Then out of the blue, the ice mage punched him squarely on the face.

Damn that felt good.

"Yeah she's in love with you, ash-for-brains!" Another punch.

"She's been in love with you for like, ages!" He slams him into a nearby wall.

"But-" Punch "you-" Bash "were-" Kick "so-" Slam "stupid-" Stomp "to-" Smash "notice!"

Once satisfied, the ice mage held his hand out to help a distraught Natsu stand up, earning himself a snort in disbelief. Raising a brow in question, the dragon slayer crossed his arms, seemingly undamaged by Gray's thrashing.

"If you want to talk to her, " He said, turning his back to his comrade and preparing to leave. "She's at the old bridge near the forest."

Natsu was about to thank him for the info but stopped halfway as he blinked at him. Gray took a glance at him and cocked a brow. "What?"

"How come you know where she is?" Honestly, he didn't want to actually ask him but it was really weird that ice prick knows a disturbing lot about his best friend.

Gray 'tch-ed' at him and continued walking away. "She always goes there… especially when you make her cry…"

"When I make her… cry…?'

He was about to take a turn when he stopped on his tracks and glanced at Natsu.

"Dragon breath," he started, turning to face his friend. "Who is Lucy to you?"

The dragon slayer just stood there, feet flat on the cold ground. He was about to say 'She's my friend of course' but stopped dead on his tracks when he understood what Gray really meant. Who was Lucy to him? Honestly, he never thought of it that way. He was positively sure she wasn't just a friend. They were always together and they enjoyed each other. She was almost like a living relative or a sister but he knew their relationship went far greater than that. So then, who was she exactly to him?

After mentally debating with himself for a few minutes, he answered with doubt evident in his voice, "She's the best-est friend one can possibly have…"

"Say that for yourself..." Gray rolled his eyes and walked away. "Go talk to her after you're sure of your answer…"

Natsu watched as Gray disappeared and stayed like that for a moment or so. Unbeknownst to him, the moon had already turned into a vibrant shade of pink, signaling the start of the ball. However, the pyro took no notice at this and maintained his gaze on the horizon.

Lucy… likes him…? The thought stained his cheeks with a hue of red. His heart was unusually light and he felt quite ecstatic. Was he… happy? Happy to know that his best friend was in love with him? He kinda didn't want to believe what Gray said and pinched himself to see if he was awake and not dreaming. He means, sure they were almost inseparable and they enjoyed each other's company but someone as… perfect as her can't possibly be in love with an idiot like him.

He could feel his heart cheering as it viscously thumped in his chest. Did that mean that he likes Lucy too? Well, she had always been the typical girl men root for. She was pretty, intelligent, charming; she practically had every good trait any woman could wish for. Any guy would surely fall for her and it wasn't impossible for him to do so either. Even Natsu wasn't THAT dense.

But if that was the case, then why was he noticing this only now? Was it because he was so use to her being an arm close that he never noticed he was already falling for her too?

After staring at the horizon and recollecting his thoughts for a few minutes, he shifted his gaze to his left.

"Magnolia Bridge, huh?"

He broke into a run, hoping, praying, that what Gray said was true. You idiot, why didn't you notice that before?!

Lucy leaned on the cold, metal railings of the worn out bridge, her elegant, cerulean gown swaying slowly with the gentle breeze. Hanging her head, she let out an audible sigh and closed her eyes, causing the beads of tears she didn't know she had on the corner of her eyes to rush down her flushed face.

"You idiot…" she muttered while wiping the tears away with the back of her hand. "Of all the men in the world, it had to be him…"

The celestial wizard sighed once more, resting her chin on her right hand.

"He's childish, idiotic, immature, persistent, reckless, possessive, and not to mention god damn dense…" Closing her eyes, she paused for a moment, the cool breeze ruffling her dress as it swayed with the wind. Knitting her brows, her lips curled into a smile.

"He's also brave… and caring… and loving… and he had always been there for me…" Blood rushed into her cheeks, darkening them by tint of pink. The novelist let out another slow sigh as she recalled the first time she felt this way for him.

Ever since their mission to defeat Erigor and destroy Lullaby, she had developed a crush on him – a simple admiration for his strength. But as time passed by, she couldn't help but feel "attached" to him. For three straight years she was with him and their relationship went beyond as friends. They went to missions TOGETHER, they walked TOGETHER, they ate TOGETHER, they slept TOGETHER, they were hurt TOGETHER, they were happy TOGETHER, and they had fun TOGETHER. They were inseparable. Where one went, the other would surely follow.

Her day would not be complete if he didn't call her weird or if he didn't grin at her, or if he didn't barge into her supposedly "private" apartment. Whenever she sees his signature smile, her heart would skip a beat. When she carries her in his arms, she felt like a princess. The arrogance in his eyes made her love him more. All the flaws they cite about him only made him perfect, perfect for her eyes.

Unlike everyone else, Natsu never saw her as someone different. Everyone she had known in her life always gave her special treatment just because of her surname. But he was different. He didn't care if she was a mess, if she was beautiful, what she was wearing, or how she looked like. Even when he caught her naked, he didn't mind a bit. For him, she was just Lucy – his best friend. Not a woman. Not an heiress. Not royalty. And not a Heartfilia.

At first, she doubted her growing affection for him. She never thought she would develop such profound feelings, especially for someone like him. But after their fight against Kain Hikaru, when he told her to save herself, when he said he wouldn't fight her, when he said he wouldn't dare hurt her, she was certain she fell for the idiot. And she fell HARD.

'It's always more fun when we're together…'

Lucy chuckled. She let out her first genuine laugh since last week. It was weird how she can love a guy that can't possibly love her back. But then again, giving up on him was like remembering someone she didn't even know.

"Well… there's no more point in crying over something pointless…" The novelist stretched her arms before undoing her tight bun, letting her blonde hair fail like a heap of mess on her shoulders. "I should apologize to him…" She turned to her right, removing her jewelry and throwing them aside. "I did slap him pretty hard…"

It was definitely a hard slap. Her hand had left a dark mark on her partner's face. She kinda felt guilty on what she did. It wasn't Natsu's fault that Lisanna was obsessed with him and yet she just had to make things worse. Seeing him with someone else was not a valid reason for her to get jealous. In fact, she had no right to feel that way. They were best friends ONLY and nothing more.

Grimacing at the thought, she managed a stifle sigh as she dragged a hand over her face, turning to her right. Slowly walking away, she took a glance behind her. She could have sworn she felt… something in the horizon. She mentally shrugged and continued walking when,

"LUCE!"

The said wizard turned to the source of the familiar voice. From afar, she saw a head of cotton candy locks nearing her. The pink haired teen jogged to catch up with her. He was panting heavily and sweat was running down his face. Her partner looked like the distraught wizard at the moment.

"I've… been… looking… for… you…" he said between breaths, wiping the sweat that was on his temple. It took him a few moments before he regained his composure and taking hold of Lucy's hands, giving them a gentle squeeze.

Lucy blinked at him, quite surprised by his action. She was about to ask what he was doing but the words got caught in her throat when Natsu locked his stare on her chocolate orbs, his fingers interlacing with hers.

"N-Natsu…?"

"I'm sorry I made you cry…" The dragon slayer said softly, his onyx eyes, drilling into her brown ones. Lucy froze, Did he just say… sorry…? That was odd; Natsu was never fond of that word.

Natsu ceased hold of her left hand to scratched the back if his neck. He cleared his throat and looked down, a hue of pink staining his cheeks.

"I know I shouldn't have made you cry and let you run away…" he continued, looking back up to her. "I'm such an idiot…"

Lucy laughed lightly on the last part, piquing his attention. He was about to ask what was so funny with his apology when Lucy hugged him tight, catching him off guard, burying her face in his broad chest and lacing her arms around Natsu's neck. Natsu felt a grunt of surprise at the back if his throat but stopped it abruptly.

"Idiot…" she said, taking a peek at him just to see his flushed face. She giggled lightly before snuggling closer. "I should be the one sorry you know… I overreacted, slapped you for no apparent reason and then run away… I should be the one who's sorry."

Natsu blinked at the proclamation. There was a pause and silence began to surround them. Lucy yelped a bit when she felt Natsu's hands wrap around her waist and gently pull her closer. The rosette rested his chin on Lucy's head and closed his eyes, savoring the scent of her hair

Nothing can possibly ruin this moment.

.

..

…

"So…" Natsu said, breaking the immediate silence and abruptly ruining their "moment". He looked down to see Lucy's face. "We're… uhm… okay now, right?"

Lucy gave her partner an assuring smile in response. He smiled back, making her heart stop all together. All so gently, the fire mage broke away, much to Lucy's disappointment, but still retained the hold on both of her hands.

"I was savoring the moment, you idiot…" she protested as she looked up to him, knitting her brows and pouting.

Natsu chuckled at her, attracting his partner's attention. "We won't be able to admire the moon while were hugging." He explained in an "a-matter-of-fact" tone while looking up. Lucy blinked once before mimicking his action, staring up into the starlit sky as well.

The clouds slowly parted, revealing a gigantic pink orb far above that cast an ethereal glow on the duo.

She always knew that the Couple's Moon was beautiful from the stories she had heard but she never knew it was THAT stunning.

"It's beautiful, ne?"

'So are you…' Natsu wanted to say but for the sake of their friendship, he swallowed the words before he can even manage to utter it.

The pyro took a peek at her at the corner of his eyes. He couldn't help but stare at her as the moonlight dimly lit her face. The pink light accentuated her cheekbones and jaw line. Her dress ruffled with the gentle breeze along with her blonde hair, and her brown eyes were glinting like stars in the black, velvet sky. How the moon illuminated her face and her smile was truly angelic and her appearance literally shamed that of the word gorgeous.

He must have been staring for a considerable amount of time because the same angelic persona suddenly looked away from the moon to face him, her lips curling into a teasing smile.

"Why are you staring at me like that?"

"N-No reason..!" he stammered, looking away, determined to hide his obvious blush. However, the blonde saw through this action and gave the fire mage an inquisitive look, gently tugging his right bicep and shaking it gently. He looked at her at the corner of his eyes. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, she gave him what he dubbed "the look". A stare that almost literally says: 'Do as I say or I won't talk to you for a month!'

He let out an audible sigh in defeat, his right hand scratching the back of his neck. He hated that look on her, it always managed to turn his legs into Jell-O. Noticing this, the celestial mage loosened the grip on his arms; her warm eyes giving him a knowing look.

"I-It's because you're pretty" the dragon slayer uttered adjusting his scarf so it only showed his eyes. Lucy cringed at the statement, her mind still trying to process what she had just heard. She felt her cheeks turn into an identical shade of pink as she hung her head.

"Y-You think I'm pretty?" she asked casually, looking back up to him.

"W-Well n-not really pretty… I mean… ugh… b-beautiful… uhm... is that the word…? Girls are weird…"

The novelist giggled lightly, gathering her partner's attention. She lifted both of her hands to gently caress his cheeks before pulling the scarf down gently, revealing his flushed face. The pyro turned his head away and response, avoiding her gaze. Sighing out of exasperation, Lucy once again lifted her hands to his cheeks and with a smooth, gentle motion, she slowly turned his head to face hers, although he still averted her gaze.

"Hey… look at me…" she ordered, her voice so soft and sweet that it made Natsu's stomach erupt with butterflies. The fire mage dutifully obliged and locked his onyx eyes on her warm, chocolate orbs.

"That's better, no? I'll take what you said earlier as a compliment, by the way, Mr. Girls-are-so-weird." She laced her arms once more around her partner's neck to keep him from looking away, much to his dismay. "Am I really that weird?" she asked, her lips curling into a gentle smile.

"W-Well… not really… I mean… ugh… I-I've always liked how weird you are…" Lucy couldn't help but stare blankly at him, this time her brain was fried on what she had just heard. He _likes_… her? She blinked a few times before burying her face in his chest.

"Y-You like me because I'm… weird?"

"Ugh… Yeah… I mean… It makes you unique…" he replied, returning the hug and resting his chin on top of her head. "That's a good thing, right?"

The novelist laughed at his neck, a goofy smile painted on her face. There was a pause as the blonde breathed heavily on his neck. Natsu could tell she was debating with herself on something. Snuggling a little closer with a decision finally made, Lucy rubbed his back.

"Since when?" she asked, trying not to pressure him for an answer. Natsu blinked once as he hung his head a bit, trying to look at her buried face.

"I… I dunno… it never actually registered its self until now…" he bluntly replied.

"Never actually registered its self? That's your dumbest excuse yet, Natsu…"

"I mean… I didn't realize that I was positively in love with you." Despite herself, Lucy felt her cheeks turn into an alarming shade of red. It was a good thing that her face was buried in his broad chest 'cause Mavis knows how Natsu will react when he sees her face.

"Sure I care for you but…" he trailed off, twiddling with some strands of Lucy's hair. "I care for you more than you think… More than a friend… I've been in love with you for a long time and I only needed a hard hit on the face to know why I always felt weird around you…"

Lucy bit her lowers lips, desperately trying not to smile. However, her lips betrayed her when it curled into one that split her face. She can't help but do so because of the fact that Natsu was the first one to confess his feelings. That he ACTUALLY had feelings for her. 'Weird' feelings seemed too much for her brain to comprehend.

He once again scratched the back of his neck and cleared his throat, ultimately snapping her back to reality.

"Then…" she started, looking up to lock her gaze with his. "Then why didn't you tell me before?"

She honestly had no idea where that question came from. Nor did she know why she was asking it in the first place. She didn't actually want to question him any further for fear that he might think that she's the "control-freak" type of girl. Unfortunately, her curiosity got the better of her.

Natsu flinched at the question. He wasn't expecting that nor did he expect for it to be voiced out in such a casual manner. But she had the right to know how he felt. After all, Lucy was the best friendship he had had, since Happy that is. Honestly, he was quite pleased that she was interested on how he felt for her.

Furrowing his brows, Natsu carefully constructed a sentence in his head, saying the first thing that came to his mind.

"I'm sorry if I didn't tell you before…" he started, putting his hands on her shoulders which made her gasped silently. She never knew Natsu can be so bold. "I just don't want anything to get between us… I mean, I like the things as they are. I don't want to risk our friendship for something that I wasn't sure of myself…"

Lucy giggled internally. He thought a confession would ruin their friendship? Stupid, silly, wonderful boy. If he only knew how madly in love she is with right now.

Clearing his throat yet again, he took a step backward breaking their body contact. The novelist raised her line of sight to see his eyes but found them averting her gaze. He fidgeted restlessly on the spot he stood and the pink moonlight made his blush more defined. She chuckled lightly, quite amused with the sight and catching her partner's attention.

"What's so funny?" he asked, a little panicky as he looked at her at the corner of his eyes.

"N-Nothing" She replied covering her mouth to stifle her laughter. "You just look so cute when you're embarrassed…"

If Natsu's blush can get any darker, it just did. He looked away and gave her a scoff while crossing his arms.

"Stupid, I just confessed to you and you find me funny… "

Lucy cocked a brow slightly at the shaky remark and smiled, poking his tensed biceps. "Geez Mister, I didn't know you had such profound feelings…"

Natsu gave her a menacing look and rolled his eyes. "Duh, I'm not a rock… Don't look at me like that…"

"Well you sure seemed like one…"

"I chickened out, okay?!" he snapped, quite startling the blonde beside him. "I wanted to ask you to the ball but I was confused coz' I started feeling… strange around you. And then Lisanna got drunk and you slapped me and ran away. And I got pissed and stuff. But then, Gray told me you like me and I wanted to confirm that. And you're such a weirdo that I love you so much!"

Lucy chuckled at him. In typical Natsu fashion, he managed to merge a huge confession into a paragraph. She wrapped her arms around his chest and basked in his scent. "Gray told you that?" she inquired, tilting her head a little and locking her gaze with his.

The fire mage nodded and said, "He told me you slapped me because you got jealous of Lisanna and stuff." He paused for moment and gulped. "Then he said you… like me…"

There was a pregnant silence as the two averted each other's gaze. Then,

"So… ugh… Luce…" He looked away from her. "I-Is that… D-Do you… li-"

He cut himself when he felt Lucy's hands wrap around his neck. Lucy looked at him and locked her determined, brown eyes with his gaze. 'She sure likes to hug me today…' He thought along with a ton of other ideas in his head. However, all of these were stopped when she pulled his head down, her lips pressing with his and swallowing a surprised yelp from the dragon slayer.

The kiss lasted only three seconds when a blushing Lucy broke away. Natsu was frozen in his place; vaguely wondering if that was even real. That was until his mind finally processed what just happened and pressed his hot forehead on hers.

"Yes." She said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I do love you…" Natsu slowly reached forward and cupped her cheek, pulling her into another kiss. She relaxed into the kiss and melted into him, lifting her free hand to cradle his neck.

"Well, I love you too." He said, after pulling away. Lucy hugs him again and Natsu diligently tucks her under his chin. Shaking with nerves, The novelist feels her lips crack into smile that stretches from ear to ear.

"Ne, Natsu?" She whispered to his neck.

"Mm?"

"You owe me a dance…"

* * *

**A/N:**

**You guys liked it?**

**I've got a next one coming for ya' though I'm not sure when I'll be able to actually type it in my current situation.**

**You can also check my profile for updates and stuff...**

**:D**


End file.
